20 - The front line

They came to Grandpa's neat little one-floor condo while some partways heading home from the nice trip to St August. Her mom warned her that Lea will need to be used to that saint area for herself soon. Her Aunt seems pleased that Lea was going to be gone while Aunt's boyfriend is putting things together (be it skeptically in an objective step back manner) and knows it going to be tough the maintain the house. Lea had her goodbyes to her aunt and uncle. The English man had to make move to the next state tonight and it comes as no surprise that mom was following him. Bringing this moment to why they were at Grandpa's House.

Seated at the dinner titled surface table, paper, and crayons across in front of Lea. She had been doodling and drawing examples of the vague recall she does know of things, keeping it filtered to be living knowledge. The adults eventually take seats, voting stuff for the best interests of survival. It was sour between grandparents like colliding opinions was fraying the relationships mentality. It was clear to Lea, given the expression being posed, tells of discomfort and unease.

"Maybe you should start with how much you know?" Her mom made Lea put down the canyons, forcing one out of her fingers and put away from her. Treating her the child she appears to be. Her mother rarely forces her to remind her that this is the reality of the distance between them.

"We can throw the living assumptions out the window." Lea accepts this was what will be enforced for this objective, "There are many worlds, realms, and even universes. All of them are an infinite distance away but still among us in one woven layer of time and space. There are other versions of humans and creatures. We label them as demons, angels, and grim reapers. But even then that isn't the whole truth." Lea gathers her papers up into one neat pile, "Whom even travels between has categorized the realities. We define most of them by how we experience and enter them." She puts the pages down and now squares up to her mother, "I hate to admit it but I ran away from reality when I learned the truth. I broke rules and clawed my way back to this here. I walked many worlds, fell, and was raised. I lived many things and died. I can't erase that experience."

"So my worst fear is was real." Her mother darkened, "Did you go to his side?"

"I did a lot of things. I was a triple agent for a long time. Going wasn't willing. I never enjoyed it. If anything, I came to view the Seer line in much bolder colors. I saw the damage they did. What that idiot did to all those names." Lea looked down in sorrow but soon softly shook off the expression, "As punishment for breaking laws, I had to clean up his crap." She holds her arms tightly at her tummy, "I still have even finished cleaning up his mess. A small part was mine, I made the opportunity for him and he burnt the gap into a big hole." She wears her emotions on her sleeve and came to a pause.

"So you traveled to stop him?" The English man sitting back listening and just trying to encourage her to continue speaking.

"It doesn't work like that. The laws of events are set in stone. Not even I can change the past. I had lived, worked, and been slaughtered out of every veil I settled in. Chased through many layers and sub-levels of hell. Sometimes I had no fair chance of even understanding what I experienced. Most times I was too late. When I could or did make it right, I had broken other things to do it." Lea could have made excuses but this was filtered as it can be. She spills no realm-shattered truths, only her opinions of her time away. Censured enough but on the topic.

"So you know the story." Her grandfather put a sealed jar on the table.

"There have been so many versions over my many lives. But the basic premise was unchanged." She shuffled papers once again and a page was chosen, "A Romeo Juliette sort of deal, but when the lovers die in each other's embrace at the end. Their souls parted ways in the afterlife instead of happy ever after. Found each other at each other's throats all over again, as it repeated in life. Fell in love as spirits or a spirit and a living." She rolls her left hand, "The details often interchange depending on the assumptions of the storyteller. The children they had living and the spirit children intertwined as cursed. Over time even generations and centuries, the powers that made name for what it is was now ruled by book. The keepers of living names and existing properties found about a living veil or realm." Lea sat back now that they all were pouring over her drawings, "My favorite story versions had some neat changes. I find myself comfortable with Gothic, darkness, and the unpleasant taboo ones."

"So you have even met her." The page of a self-portrait is down.

"Met? I made that. That was my persona when things got dark." He pouts at Lea, "I am Lady Tricky Trickster. I play tricks on all to survive another day. Being a living human among the realms of spirits. Being a dressed-up lie was my only chance. Yet even then, eventually the lie crumbles. I took it seriously. I went off to do so much. I fought the front line. I came back dragging the soul remains of fallen beside me. War of the dream worms. Some universe exploded, torn tunnels for these existence eaters." She sprays salt over the image and it lifted itself into origami form and then it lifted itself more pages into making the equipment it needed, "I may have run away in fear of what this reality dealt me but now that I came back. I came with so much more and nothing at all. I paid a lot of costs."

"Oh, Lea... I had known you were." Her grandfather falling apart, "I killed you in my hands."

"I love you all. The pain made me stronger. I was misguided and distrustful. I didn't do what I should have done. I was selfish the most of time. I equally tried many routes. Attempting all sorts of pathways and seeking the truth that didn't matter." Lea picks up the little figure, "I was always faithful to what I believed in most thanks to you all. Even you, stepdad." She hugs the little figure and lets it to the table. A soft bow to them all and wonders around the table surface.

"You had been gone for several life cycles and even this universe began to cope with you gone. Why have you forced yourself back?" Her grandmother was no filters and look as if Lea had damaged everything they stood for. Broken rules and promises.

"I came back because of my existence. My role in this crazy universe is unfinished." Lea stood her ground and shut up the adults from glaring between themselves, "I failed to come back properly. I am not all of myself. I renounced my promise of being a bookkeeper thrice. I was prevented from having the job. I broke other worlds when I tried to rid of the book myself. I was never free. Always fighting the tides and drowning." Lea stares at the paper figure, "Life slips between fingers too fast, and no matter your control of holding it. There was always something else or more questions. I truly sank assuming that I was thrown away by this universe.

They all sit uncomfortably and each is guilty of ending a Tricky Trickster at some point. Mistakes. But when they came to do the right thing, many creatures proclaim the name and were not using the title the way it was intended for. Lea wishes not to explain that they only killed her thrice, and during times when she wasn't a human anyway. She doesn't have the right to explain the full truth of it all. Killing pretends Tricky Tricksters was the best course of action, even if it meant excepting that her past can't be altered due to it. She came a long way to be returned, it was for the best that nothing more is altered. That there will be a little unrest yet hope in the future.

"It's about time that things moved on." Lea getting sick of being wrapped in the same feelings and over the same old topics, "Life is too short to worry about what will be and what was. Clearly the matter of now is the unfinished war, the unrest in many after realms that is causing a spill into living ones. That we among many other branches and societies play a part in soothing or prevention." She drums the table, "Skinwalkers up north among the forests. Tribal burials are being discovered and disturbed. Sea monsters are forced out into the light. Even ghosts of the dead are lingering too long, they must be sent to the realms they are needed."

For that Grandpa nods in agreement with Lea.

"You're going to boarding school. You ate to be trained up as an undertaker. It's up to you what kingdoms or creeds. But for your sake, do not join among Seers." Her grandmother spat.

"Can I take extra classes in demonology coding and Angelic choir practice?" Lea asked and her grandfather is the only one that posed seeing how she was thinking.

"You have to be top of combat class." Her English stepfather demands, "Or consider having a partner. Of course, be safe in choosing one, and don't tie down unless it is essential."

"Don't listen to that man. You are not doing extra classes." Her grandmother snarls.

"What your grandmother means..." Her mother kicks under the table, "Right now as a 1st grader, you're not able to do much. But if your academics or combat fighting is high enough by the 4th, we will consider looking into extra."

The adults glare, slowly all lowering in different levels of thought.

"I will be fighting beside when I turn 16 in a team with supervision. By 18 I will be able to fight in my team without a watch. 21 I will be in ranking boards which would determine the jobs I can do as a group, pair, and solo. I will be able to network my way eventually." She took out a long candle and stood in the chair placing it beside the sealed jar. She sets a dish that just appeared.

"What does that candle do?" Her grandfather asked.

"Umm..." She picked it up, smells it, and then put it back into the dish, "I made it. The exact purpose of it is unclear." She then has it angled just right, "There. You light it and leave the paper." The doll origami flicked the candle light with blue flame, it walks into the shadow of it. The flame turns green then softly normal. The shadow stemming from it reveals figures of clay masks beside each person here, their clay side of themselves.

What the adults look to Lea's version, stands as a broken mask with torn cloth skins. Cloth hands blinded Lea's living eyes and a book floated in a sliver chain of unnatural links. This chain accents her clothes both living and dead. There were many bloodstain runic patterns and cut flesh markings, in this light even the living side had birthmarks that became visible. Scars along her chest, neck, and face.

"You will be at a disadvantage." She shook at disagreement to this statement.

"I am no different to the rare few other children there. Reborn souls are rare but not uncommon there." She